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When The President Votes

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When The President Votes
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IS the President a mere figurehead? Does he hold any discretionary powers? In the absence of a precedence or a clearly defined constitutional provision, what is to guide the President on issues like who to invite to form the government in the event of a hung Parliament?

The questions beg legal advice. So does the formulation of a 'Presidential Act' as the scenario of a hung Parliament appears a distinct possibility, if not a certainty. The President's role is already being debated on one question: what will be his course of action after the poll outcome?

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For, only four times in past—July 1979, December 1989, November 1990 and June 1991—has the President had to exercise his discretionary powers at the time of government formation. In the first case,

N. Sanjeeva Reddy invited Charan Singh to form the government after the Congress promised him support in Parliament, ignoring the Janata Party's claim that Jagjivan Ram deserved the invitation. Reddy's role was questioned by the Janata Party, but the issue died soon afterwards as Charan Singh, who had to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha within three weeks, dissolved Parliament and ordered fresh polls.

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In 1989, R. Venkataraman first invited Rajiv Gandhi (the Congress was the single-largest party with 192 seats) instead of V.P. Singh, who had furnished details of the unconditional support to him by the Left parties and the BJP. But Rajiv Gandhi, after discussions with the Congress Parliamentary Board, turned down the offer saying the mandate for him was "to sit in the

Opposition". V.P. Singh was then invited to form the government on the condition that he would prove his majority within a month of his swearing-in, which he did.

The more tricky constitutional problem arose less than a year later, when Singh lost a vote of confidence after the BJP withdrew support in the wake of L.K. Advani's arrest. Chandra Shekhar, heading a 54-member JD splinter group, with the Congress supporting him from outside, staked his claim. Venkataraman, say Rashtrapati Bhawan sources, consulted legal luminaries and also sought details regarding conventions in other countries in a similar situation. In the end, he still did not go as per the claim of Chandra Shekhar, endorsed by Rajiv Gandhi, for an unconditional nod. He once again approached parties in the order of strength in Parliament, beginning with the Congress. Chandra Shekhar was invited only after all parties preceding his in strength expressed inability to form the government. The condition was again that he would prove his majority within a month. Once he did that, of course, the government was as legitimate as any with an absolute majority.

But the scenario for the 11th Lok Sabha might just be different. As they seem today, the possibilities could be:

  •  The BJP emerges as the single largest party but is short of a majority, and all other parties come together to stall it.
  •  The Congress emerges as the single largest party without majority.
  •  The NF-LF gets more than the Congress, and less than the BJP, and in the possibility of the BJP not getting outside support, stakes its claims.
  •  The President is not convinced about any party being in a position to form the government but certain individuals—from outside or inside Parliament—have support cutting across party lines. The mention of Vice-President K.R. Narayanan's name by certain political parties as the possible head of the new government introduces a new twist to the debate.

    The problem lies in the fact that the President's discretion here is one of the grey areas of the Constitution. As per the Constitutional position, the President can call upon anyone to form a government and give him/her reasonable time to prove a majority in the Lok Sabha. But according to convention, the leader of the largest single party or combine formed before the election is called. The debate on the subject also concerns whether the President should simply invite such a leader to form a government, or whether he is also enjoined to satisfy himself that the person can prove a majority and provide a reasonably stable government. Whatever he does in the week following the completion of the polling process, all eyes will remain focused on President S.D. Sharma. 

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